David Pecker Details Stormy Daniels 'Catch-And-Kill' For Trump: 'Boss Will Be Very Angry'
Donald Trump's longtime friend David Pecker has testified about his role in the alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and "catch-and-kill" schemes to protect the former president before the 2016 election.
The former publisher of the National Enquirer returned to the witness stand Thursday for the third day of his testimony in Trump's hush money criminal trial in New York.
Pecker told the court that he refused to front money to buy Daniels' story of an alleged 2006 affair with Trump -- which she tried to sell in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. Trump has denied Daniels' claim.
Pecker, who was head of American Media Inc. (AMI) until 2020, said he instead informed Trump's then-attorney and "fixer" Michael Cohen about Daniels' claim and advised him to pay her, The Daily Beast reported.
However, Pecker said on the stand that Cohen allegedly told him Trump would be "very angry" if AMI did not buy the story.
According to Pecker's testimony, Daniels came forward as Trump's campaign was dealing with the backlash from the 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape, which captured the then-"Apprentice" star boasting about grabbing and kissing women without consent.
Pecker said then-Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard told him two of his "best sources" reached out to inform him that Daniels was looking for $120,000 for her story.
Pecker identified Howard's sources as Daniels' agent Gina Rodriguez and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal's attorney Keith Davidson.
He went on to tell the court that Howard texted him saying that Daniels had already received "offers from Mail and GMA," with the latter reportedly hoping to interview the adult film actress on TV and do a lie detector test.
"I know the denials were made in the past -- but this story is true," Howard texted Pecker.
But the veteran tabloid publisher testified that he didn't buy Daniels' story because he allegedly had already spent $180,000 on two other "catch-and-kill" stories for Trump.
"I am not a bank," he responded to Howard at the time.
Pecker said he then told Cohen in a message that he "can't pay $120,000" for Daniels' claim because he didn't want the National Enquirer to be affiliated with a porn star. He explained that the tabloid's largest retailer is Walmart, a store with conservative roots.
Pecker testified that Cohen urged him to purchase Daniels' story but that he remained adamant about not shelling out any more cash to silence potentially damaging revelations for Trump.
He said on the stand that he had already paid out a doorman, who falsely claimed Trump had an illegitimate child, and McDougal, who also claimed to have had an alleged affair with the former president, NBC News reported. Trump has denied McDougal's claims.
Pecker said Cohen allegedly told him that if Daniels' story were to appear in the media, "The boss will be very angry at you," referring to Trump.
He said he only learned that Cohen paid Daniels when he met with the lawyer in December 2016.
Both Daniels and McDougal went public with their claims in 2018 after the Wall Street Journal reported in January that year that Cohen had arranged a $130,000 payment to the former.
Pecker told the court Trump allegedly called him after Daniels opened up about her alleged encounter with the billionaire and the payment in her interview with Anderson Cooper.
He said the former president allegedly informed him that he had "an agreement with Stormy Daniels that she cannot mention my name or anything like this and that each time she breaches the agreement it is a $1 million penalty."
Pecker said Trump allegedly told him Daniels owed him $24 million following the interview with Cooper.
The former Enquirer head signed a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors who were investigating Cohen in connection with the hush money payments. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including campaign finance violations, in 2018.
Pecker also said that he agreed to cooperate with the Manhattan district attorney's office, granting him immunity.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with his alleged reimbursements to Cohen for the hush money payments.
The prosecution concluded their questioning of Pecker Thursday. Trump's lawyers will continue their cross-examination when the trial continues Friday.
